Pellegri’s goal not enough for Monaco

A goal from Monaco's latest teen prodigy was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat at Bordeaux yesterday.

Pietro Pellegri, a tall and robust 17-year-old striker from Italy, equalised for Monaco midway through the second half. Shortly after coming off the bench, he struck a powerful shot from just inside the penalty area after Bordeaux had failed to clear the ball properly.

Pellegri joined Monaco from Italian Serie A side Genoa in January for a reported fee of 25 million euros ($29 million).

He holds Serie A records as the joint-youngest player to make his Serie A debut — at 15 years, 280 days — and became the third-youngest scorer in Serie A in May 2017. In September that year, he was the first 16-year-old to score twice in a major European league game.

But Monaco couldn't find another goal and now has only four points from three games.

After two defeats, Bordeaux bounced back thanks to two goals from forward Francois Kamano, who grabbed an injurytime winner after teammate Samuel Kalu missed a penalty minutes earlier.

Pellegri follows in the footsteps of France star Kylian Mbappe, who spectacularly burst onto the scene for Monaco as a 17-year-old, helping it to win the French title and reach the Champions League semifinals in 2017.

Mbappe joined Paris SaintGermain last season in a deal reportedly worth 180 million euros ($209 million) and the 19year-old helped France to win the World Cup last month. Mbappe was among the scorers in PSG's 3-1 home win against Amiens on Saturday.

Also yesterday, Lille striker Jonathan Bamba scored twice in a 3-0 home win over Guingamp.

Later Sunday, Marseille looks to bounce back from last weekend's 3-1 loss at Nimes when it hosts Rennes. Paris SG Dijon Lille Lyon Nimes Reims Toulouse St Etienne Marseille Monaco Strasbourg Montpellier Rennes Amiens Bordeaux Caen Nantes Nice Angers Guingamp P W D 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 2 1 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 1 2 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 0 3 1 0 3 0 2 3 0 1 3 0 1 3 0 0 3 0 0 L 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 F A Pts 9 2 9 8 1 9 6 1 7 4 1 6 7 5 6 3 4 6 3 5 6 3 2 5 7 5 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 5 4 5 5 3 3 5 3 2 5 2 2 6 1 1 6 1 4 8 0 2 8 0